Al Qaeda 'key leader' killed in Yemen

President Barack Obama publicly and proudly confirmed the death in Yemen Friday of one of the most prominent leaders of Al Qaeda, American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.

“The death of al-Awlaki is a major blow to Al Qaeda’s most active operational affiliate,” Obama said at a military ceremony Friday morning in Arlington, Va. “The death of Awlaki marks another significant milestone in the broader effort to defeat Al Qaeda and its affiliates.”

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“Make no mistake, this is further proof that Al Qaeda and its affiliates will find no safe haven anywhere in the world,” Obama declared. “We will be determined, we will be deliberate, we will be relentless, we will be resolute in our commitment to destroy terrorist networks that aim to kill Americans.”

Obama provided no details on Awlaki’s demise, which reportedly was caused by missiles fired from U.S. military-run drones in an operation overseen by the Central Intelligence Agency. However, the president seemed to confirm that the U.S. government was involved in al-Awlaki’s killing.

“This success is a tribute to our intelligence community and to the efforts of Yemen and its security forces who have worked closely with the United States over the course of several years,” Obama said.

Obama discussed the news at a previously scheduled speech marking the retirement of Adm. Michael Mullen and the installation of Gen. Martin Dempsey as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The president’s announcement of al-Awlaki’s death to the military crowd drew immediate applause.

Obama said al-Awlaki helped direct Al Qaeda operations, including the attempt on Christmas Day 2009 to bomb an airliner bound for Detroit and an effort in 2010 to use explosives-laden printer cartridges to blow up cargo planes bound for the U.S. The president also pointed to al-Awlaki’s role as a recruiter and an inspirational figure.

“He repeatedly called on individuals in the United States and around the globe to kill innocent men women and children to advance a murderous agenda,” the president said.

In an interview later Friday, Obama declined to respond to a question about whether he ordered the strike against al-Awlaki. “I can’t talk about the operational details,” the president told radio host Michael Smerconish.

The first word of al-Awlaki’s death came in a text message sent to reporters by Yemen’s defense ministry.

“The terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki has been killed along with some of his companions,” the ministry said in a statement.

U.S. and Yemeni officials told The Associated Press that the same military command that killed Osama bin Laden used a drone and jet strike in Yemen to kill al-Awlaki.

The strike hit al-Awlaki’s convoy, according to the AP. It was directed by the CIA and carried out with the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command’s military assets.

Yemeni security officials told the AP that an airstrike took place Friday morning, east of the country’s capital. Tribal elders in the region said that the airstrike targeted an Al Qaeda convoy.

The Yemeni Defense Ministry also said Friday that Samir Khan, another American with links to Al Qaeda, was killed along with al-Awlaki in the airstrike. Khan, a former South Carolinian, is believed to have worked on Inspire, an English-language Al Qaeda magazine.

The U.S. government has called al-Awlaki a “key leader” of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, an Al Qaeda offshoot in Yemen. The U.S. has also linked al-Awlaki to Nidal Malik Hasan, who is charged with killing 13 people in a shooting at a U.S. Army base at Fort Hood, Texas, in November 2009, although Obama did not mention that alleged connection Friday.

A senior defense official said Friday that al-Awlaki’s role had evolved from offering inspiration to actually plotting attacks.